Flashpoint s04e18 Episode Script

Slow Burn

I see them! Right here! Outside, north wall! It's It's not a good time.
How is he? He's still unconscious.
What else? Full story.
Both legs broken.
He's in burn shock; Third and fourth degree, forty percent of his BSA.
Okay, uh Where's his wife, where's Sharon? She'll be back.
She had to talk to her kids.
All right.
Five minutes.
- Captain - No, nurse, we're going in there, all right? We're going in.
Dr.
Warnick to OR two.
Nice job, team one.
Winnie, time check.
One hour 'til end of shift.
You got me down for pasta, right? Yeah, pasta salad.
Two bottles of homemade red? Yeah.
Uh, Ed, got you.
Sam, got you.
Raf? Bringing the beer.
Boss? Yeah? Give me a hand in the gun cage? Come on.
He's coming, right? Yeah, he's supposed to get the call from the chief at 7:30, so He better be coming.
Morphine, right? That's a good sign.
It's for his legs.
You heard her, third and fourth degree.
His nerves are dead.
Hey, Simon.
Hey, cups.
Boys, get some cups.
Here we go, Gordie.
One for you All right, what do we say, boys? Favour the brave.
Favour the brave.
This is for you, Gordie.
Thanks.
I guess that was our last call for team one as we know it.
We don't know that.
Yes, we do.
The chief already made his decision.
And Dr.
Toth is making a personal appeal to overturn it.
It's the chief we're talking about.
Yeah, well, not long now.
We still haven't talked about it.
Which one of us leaves.
Maybe it's me.
I'm ready to lead a team of my own.
Yeah, but there's no vacancies for SRU team leaders.
My dad called.
He said there's a position overseas for me if I wanna take it.
Where? Does it matter? Would you take it? I don't wanna take it.
Cap? You okay? Yeah, I'm fine.
Listen, you go debrief.
I'm gonna wait for Sharon, uh, in case he wakes up.
Why don't you go back to the station? I'll stay.
Listen, I'm fine, all right? I'm gonna grab a coffee.
I'm fine.
Call me if you hear anything.
You bet.
How long we been doing this family picnic now? A long time.
Remember why we started it? Yeah, seemed like a good idea at the time.
Yeah, it was your idea.
Clark was nine, Dean must've been Dean wasn't there, Eddie.
No, he wasn't, but this year he's gonna be there.
You know those two have been hanging out, right? Yeah.
And you're going.
Look, Greg, I know that Toth gave you a week to decide what to do with your suspension papers, and that time is up.
So tell me you burned them.
Eddie, it's not that simple.
Hey! Hey! Nurse! Call the cops! You okay? It's my decision, Eddie.
I'm working it out my way.
Greg, you let yourself get suspended, you know what happens to your career? I'm not thinking about my career right now.
Team one, hot call.
Gear up.
Shots fired at Saint Pat's.
Let's go.
Jules, you're with me.
Two cars leaving the scene, subject's car is an old model green sedan, partial marker Alpha-Tango-Yankee-X-ray, headed east on queen.
Second car is a grey SUV.
Nurse said he's a firefighter, he's in pursuit.
Who's our hero? District three, fire hall 11.
Still waiting on a name.
Apparently there was an attack on one of the injured members of his crew.
Eddie, we'll head to the hospital, get intel on what went down.
Copy.
Spike, Raf, Sam, with me.
Who fired the shot? A tall man in a baseball cap, caucasian.
He'd slipped into the patient's room.
And who's the patient? Gordon park, Fire House 11.
His team was on a call, Roncey Village.
He fell through two floors last night, he was severely burned.
I'm Beth Topp, arson investigation.
Sgt.
Parker, SRU.
Jules Callaghan.
What happened next? Simon, Gordon's captain, he went to get a cup of coffee.
He came back, he saw a guy strangling Gord in his bed.
There was a fight and the guy pulled a gun.
And Simon went after him.
Yeah.
Who attacks a firefighter in their bed? I'm guessing the guy who started the fire.
You hearing this, Sam? Copy.
Unis have a visual on the cars, they're running lights, south on cherry.
On our way.
Why don't you come with us, fill us in as we go? Absolutely.
Spike! Raf! You remember the Parkdale arsons? Six fires in the last month.
That was just last month.
I've been after this guy since march.
Since march? Bastard knows what he's doing.
A lot of firebugs come to watch the burn, but we haven't caught that break until last night.
Gord saw him? He was on the second floor, by the window.
His guys heard him yell, "I see him! Right here!" Then the floor caved in and whoever it was, was gone.
You went to the hospital to find out who it was.
Assuming he regained consciousness.
Raf? No joy.
Wait.
Northwest quadrant.
On our way.
What about Simon? He's the cap.
He's taking it harder than anyone.
We gotta get him out of this call.
Not gonna be easy.
This bastard's taken lives.
Eddie! Spike! Raf! Right here! Police! SRU! Police! Drop your weapon! SRU! Down on the ground! Get down! Get down! Taking fire! Civilians at risk! Ed, need backup! Need it now! Simon, back off! Back off away, now! Ungh! Drop the weapon! Put it down now! Do it now! Put it down! Put it down! Drop it! Stay down, Simon! Stay down! - We got him.
- I got him.
Go! Jules, with me, let's move.
Gotta take you back to the truck, captain.
No, I'm not going anywhere.
Hey.
Come on, you've been on a hell of a tough call, you've been up all night.
Listen to me! Do you know what he did? Huh? Yeah, I do.
No you don't.
Did you see that kid? Huh? Did you see his dad waiting outside the fire? I don't remember seeing you there last night.
Did you see us carry his boy outside and he didn't even know that it was his son? He didn't even know that it was a kid.
I wanted to die rather than look him in the eye, but I couldn't do that.
I had to watch him piece it together.
I had to watch him figure it out by himself.
And you want me to stay here when I should be over there ripping out that sick son of a bitch's throat.
Is that what you're saying? God Look at me.
Look at me.
I know, okay? Hey.
I've been there too.
I know.
No, I gotta get back to the hospital.
No, I think you need to get home, captain.
You got someone I can call? No.
Someone on your crew? Sergeant He's my friend, okay? I've gotta be there for him.
Let me call someone at the Fire House.
No, look.
Listen.
Listen to me.
This happened on my watch.
Now, you said you know.
Okay, so you understand, you understand that, right, sergeant? You understand what I'm saying? Yeah, I do.
Okay.
Then you let me go back to the hospital.
Please.
Okay.
You got a cell phone on you? - Yeah.
- You just keep it close.
I'm gonna check in on you, all right? Come on.
Just make sure you bring me his head, all right? In here.
Okay.
Spike, Jules, move in.
Raf, Sam, on my six.
Let's move.
I'm worried about him.
He's been through hell the last six months, he can handle another day.
Boss, we got him.
Right here.
We go in hard, he's gonna start shooting.
I'd say break the window, flash-bang him, but given his hobby Who knows what he's got in there.
Whole boat could blow.
Yeah.
I guess we gotta talk him out.
Okay, Sam.
Raf.
Got the back.
Jules, I need you.
I'll run the plates, see if I can get us a name.
The firebug's lit at least He's hard to crack.
First, we thought it was an upspike in accidental fires; there was no pattern that said serial arson.
What do you usually look for? Techniques, tools, materials in common, or profiling by target patterns.
But on both counts this guy was all over the map.
The car is registered to Andrew Hammond.
Andrew Hammond! My name's Ed Lane, with the Police Strategic Response Unit.
Got it covered.
Andrew, nobody needs to get hurt here today.
Andrew! I just need you to open that door slowly and put your weapons down.
Sam, I'm gonna need you to cover me.
Copy.
Raf, I got an idea.
We mapped the accidental fires in Parkdale.
They're evenly spaced, three blocks apart.
To throw you off geo-profiling where he lives? Exactly.
Guys, this isn't jelling for me.
How's that, Spike? Andrew's got a grade nine education, spotty employment record.
He's been in and out of jail.
His crimes aren't exactly what you'd call sophisticated.
He's got no arson on the record.
Okay, so how does a guy like this stay a step ahead of arson investigators for 24 fires? Yeah.
Arsonists usually work solo.
Is there a chance he's got an accomplice? It's not common, but it happens.
I mean, somebody who does know fires, and geo-profiling, and accelerants Someone in the business.
A firefighter.
Look, I'm sorry to ask you this, but we gotta look under every rock.
Not one of us.
No way.
He just came to.
He was asking for you.
Okay.
It's his captain.
Hey, Gord.
I'm here.
It's me.
I'm right here, buddy, I'm right here.
Hey.
Hey.
How you doing in there, huh? You should see yourself, eh? I think you did it this time to yourself, buddy.
They didn't know I was listening.
What do you mean? I'm gonna lose both my feet, lose my hand.
Skin grafts over 40% of my body.
Painkillers for life.
And for the rest of her life Sharon's gonna be babysitting a scrap of meat.
Gord, listen to me.
We're gonna get through this, I swear, okay? Me and you.
I saw the firebugs.
There's two.
We know one of them.
I'll tell you who he is.
Simon, you gotta promise I promise anything, you name it.
I need you to make sure that Sharon Gets on with the rest of her life, and Tim and Ricky I need you to make them think that I died on the job.
Gordon, what're you saying? You're the only one I can ask.
Gordon, I can't do that, man.
I can't I can't.
Please Please.
Help me.
You got one last chance.
Exit the boat with a little dignity and self-respect.
I'm gonna give you Yeah, try it and I'll take you with me.
Or we can do this the other way, and you'll come out on your hands and knees.
One Two You can't tell me what to do, pig! Okay, 10.
Serial arsonists, they start young, right? If it's excitement-motivated, or vandalism-motivated, yeah.
Okay, Spike, why don't you see if you can get Andrew's youth records unsealed.
Maybe he had a partner in crime.
I'm gonna call Simon, see if Gord came to.
Down on the ground now! Hands behind your back! Boss, subject secure.
Simon's not picking up.
I told him to keep his phone close.
Hey, Beth, we've got this guy here.
Why don't you go back to the hospital and just check on Simon and Gord.
Yeah.
I don't know, I should never have let him go.
Not in the state he was in.
Boss, it was the right call.
If Gord wakes up, he's gonna wanna see a friend.
It's okay.
Hey.
What's the word? We, uh Uh, we lost him.
Damn it.
He never came to? No, he did.
I talked to him.
But it's over, they got the guy, right? There's two guys, and no, it's never over.
Simon Buddy, come on.
No, I'm done talking.
I just wanna be left alone.
Just leave me alone.
You ready to talk? You want some oxygen? We'll get you some oxygen, just tell us who your partner is, all right? We got a slam-dunk.
That doesn't prove anything.
It's a powder keg in there.
Stockpiled accelerants.
He could open up his own shop, especially if he sells copies of this.
He had it hidden under his stove.
Chapter nine is on serial arson investigation.
Beth, what's the news? What? Asphyxiated? Gordie's wife thinks he succumbed to his injuries.
We're gonna keep letting her believe that for now.
But the doctor told you otherwise? Gordie was awake when Simon came to see him.
They were heard talking.
After Simon left, Gordie stopped breathing.
He was deprived of oxygen but his airflow was still running.
You think Simon had tampered with it? They think he could've used a pillow.
It was a mercy killing.
Boss, listen to this.
Yeah, hold on, Beth.
I'm gonna put you on speaker phone here.
I managed to access Andrew's youth records.
Violent father, alcohol Mom gone.
It's a perfect breeding ground for an arsonist A boy who's angry, powerless, unsupervised Looking for some way to fight back.
Yeah, he started early.
Garbage fires at eight, RV, fire at school All before he was eighteen.
All fitting the profile of a "thrill-seeker" arsonist, just like his brother.
His brother? Spike yeah, two of them worked as a team.
Andrew and Robert Hammond.
Robert Hammond.
Robbie? I never made that connection.
Who's Robbie? He's the custodian at Fire House 11.
It's where he got the manual.
Okay, let's call the fire hall, tell them we're on our way.
Hey, Beth, are you close with Simon? He brought me up since I was a probie.
Okay, why don't you meet us at the fire hall? Feed us on the fly.
I'm gonna call Simon.
What're you thinking here, boss? If Gord told Simon who the other arsonist was Stay quiet.
He told you about me, didn't he, before he died? Okay, here's what's gonna happen.
You're not thinking straight, you can't take it anymore.
You're gonna get up on that ledge and you're gonna jump.
Move! This is for Gord.
Beth, can you tell us anything about Simon's home life? Not much.
All I know is, it's been a long time since his wife and kids joined us for the softball game.
So what's going on with Simon is about more than just last month's fire.
He told me once, it's like his map of the city It's not streets, or landmarks, it's the crosswalk where the kid got wrapped around the wheels of a car.
It's the jumpers, the heart attacks, the crashes, the Bridges, the alleyways.
Everywhere he looks There's someone he couldn't help.
So if it's not his family, who does he turn to? His crew? He takes on everything they're going through like it's his own war to win.
He's tough on himself.
How so? No matter how many things he does right All he knows is what he does wrong.
Thanks, Beth.
Are you okay, boss? Pete! Hey, cap.
Get in there! Start program four in the burn house.
Put it on a 10 minute delay.
Capt'n, what is this? We got him.
Scum was right under our eyes the whole time.
- Pete, he's lost it.
- Shut up! Simon Program four! Do it! Okay, all right.
Ten minutes.
It's done.
Get out! Go! Go! I think he was.
He's got Robert at gunpoint in the burn house.
He say what his plans were? He told Pete he wanted program four; that's a training drill.
He's barricaded himself inside and he's not letting anybody near.
Take me to the controls? Okay.
How's this house operate? You design a burn sequence on the computer A kitchen fire, bedroom, basement, whatever you're drilling.
The fire spreads according to a set pattern.
You control the fire.
It's propane, piped into each room.
Levels, timing, motion, it's all set by computer.
Can we talk to him? There's a two-way intercom.
I can get you a handset.
- Good.
- Gabe.
Come with me.
When he was in the hospital, how did he seem? Spike, what do you see? Simon engaged a program that's gonna set off the fire sequence in the house in five minutes.
It starts in the basement, and works its way up to the loft within 15 minutes.
And he shut all the windows.
I mean, the heat in there alone I mean, they don't have any protective equipment, they don't have any air supply.
Can the program be aborted? Not from here.
He destroyed the keypad, so I can't talk to the computer.
Hard drive's still here, but the ports are smashed.
- You got wireless? - No.
What if we unplug the computer? Is that gonna stop the burn sequence? You have to use the kill switch.
The kill switch.
And this is Was the kill switch.
There's gotta be a backup.
There is Inside the burn house.
So it's down to Simon.
He wants to give the man a taste of his own.
But he's got no exit strategy.
So when Simon got here, he was very upset, said he was done talking.
Barry also said it's not the first time.
The little boy that died in the fire, Simon blames himself for that.
He's got every reason to wanna hurt this guy.
This is sounding like suicide intent here.
I let him go.
I had him there with me.
I saw the signs and I let him go.
Greg, this is about Simon.
Now, we gotta get him to hit that kill switch before this fire starts.
Here's a walkie.
He can hear us, but we have to get Simon to turn on the intercom button so that we can hear him.
We got three minutes.
Boss.
You take the lead, ed.
What're you talking about? You take this.
He's better off in your hands.
That's a negative.
You have a connection with him, he needs to hear it from you.
I already made one bad call today, I can't make another one.
If I talk to him, I'm gonna lose him, Eddie.
He's safer with you.
I'm done.
Guys, did that just happen? Well, I guess the sarge made his choice today.
I'm coming down.
I got him.
I'll talk to him.
Jules, take it.
- I'll do the talk.
- I'll take tac.
There's got to be a way in.
Raf, Barry Can you get EMS here? Simon, this is Jules Callaghan, team one.
How you doing in there? All these windows solid steel? - That's right.
- They lock from the inside? Inside and out.
Okay, we'll blast the hinges, make entry.
- No, our tools'll be better.
- What've you got? - Jaws of life.
- Okay, let's do it.
But there's a gun in play, we'll cover you.
Simon, I know that you can hear me.
I need you turn the intercom on so that we can hear you.
Simon, I need you to come outta there now.
The burn sequence is gonna start in a few seconds.
Why?! You watched us come back from those fires, you saw what they did to us.
Simon, answer me, please.
I need to hear your voice, okay? Hey, back off! Help me! - Shut up! - Help me! Stop right now or he dies! - Barry - Right now! Pull him out.
What're you doing? "I'm done.
" That's how it ends? That's why we cross-train, Eddie.
We pick the best match for the subject, and today it's not me.
You got a guy up there that needs you, Greg.
It's not me he needs.
What do you think, now's a good time to walk out on the team? Come on.
This team is the best thing, it's the proudest thing in my life.
But I just can't do it anymore, Eddie.
You put that man's life in my hands and he will die.
The fire is starting, those men are in there, and he is not responding to Jules.
Then why are you wasting your time here? The fire's moving, it's hitting the second floor.
How hot is it in there? They don't have long.
The trap door on the loft.
Can you blast the hinges off that? Get me up a ladder, I can set it up right now.
No.
The windows are creating an airlock.
You suddenly get an opening, you get a huge rush of oxygen and Backdraft, the trapped gases would explode, both men would fry.
So no rush of oxygen, no opening windows or doors? Can we relieve the airlocked pressure by drilling ventilation holes? Not with the time we have.
A fast track to the kill-switch would be good.
I'm trying.
Simon, you have been through so much with your team, you can't throw it all away now.
Any way we can bring the heat down in there? - Run some hoses? - Let's do it, gear up.
Guys! Simon, I know you can hear me.
Turn the intercom on so I can hear you.
Greg, you're hearing the same thing I am, and I got Jules doing everything right and he is not responding.
It's you that he needs here.
No, I'm the last thing this man needs.
No, you gotta listen to me! Listen to me! Back off, Eddie! Listen to me! He doesn't need you because you're some genius of empathy.
He needs you because you get it wrong, 'cause you don't always know what you're doing, because you make mistakes like he does.
Now, you think this is your fault? Fine.
Then it's your job to set it straight.
And if this is the last thing you do as a member of this team, then that's what it is.
But you owe it to him, and you owe it to us, Greg, so come on.
Come on, buddy.
Let's go! Simon, I need you to hit the kill switch right now.
How do you like it so far? Don't even think about it! Screw you! How'd you think that kid felt? He shouldn't have been there! It was the middle of the night, where was he supposed to be? They should have checked their smoke detectors.
Simon, please, hit the kill switch right now.
Feeling a little tired? Why don't you stretch out in the bedroom? Simon, listen.
Did you hear them, hmm? Screaming And yelling for help? Did you hear that? Frying in their own skin?! Turn it off! You tell them that you're sorry.
Turn it off! Hey, Simon, it's Greg Parker.
I know what's going on and I'm in there with you.
Simon? We're gonna talk.
Simon, I know you can hear me.
Can you just turn on that intercom, buddy? I really need to hear your voice.
Come on, buddy, I just need to know you're kicking in there.
Please, if we force open a window, we trigger a backdraft.
Only you can stop this.
If you hit the kill switch, we can talk.
Parker, I'm here.
Okay, I didn't know if I'd lost ya.
I couldn't let that happen.
'Cause when you let yourself care No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, you don't get to do that! - - You feel responsible.
- You don't get to do that! You're a leader, too.
You don't get to sleep your way through this, you son of bitch.
Wake up! Wake up! Look at me! Look at me! Simon, what's going on? Get up! Simon? They're gonna cool the walls, bring the temperature down.
It buys us a little time, but there's not much else we can do.
Okay, Beth, where are they in there? They gotta be in the loft.
And there's kill switch on every floor? That's right.
Okay, how long till the fire hits the top? Not long.
Simon, I'm not here to argue with you about the guy in there What he deserves or what he doesn't deserve.
But I gotta tell you, if he doesn't have the right to play God with people's lives, then neither do we; That's not our job.
I crossed that line already.
What difference does it make? We both have to make tough choices, maybe some wrong choices.
You get a split second to make them, and then a whole lifetime to regret them.
I know what happened at that hospital.
He's gone, Gordie's gone.
I know.
He went down a hero.
He went down doing his job, saving lives.
Yeah, but his life, that was on me! Simon, I know what happened and that it's complicated, and making choices Our choices are never black and white.
I can't take back what I did.
I know, I know.
None of us can.
And I'm not saying that it was right, but I am saying that sometimes the most difficult decisions we make are about love and and friendship.
It's just about doing what we think is best.
And I'd like to talk about that with you.
I'd really like you to come out so we can talk about that.
We're running out of time; The fire's reached the loft.
How long's the programmed burn for? It doesn't matter.
It's not survivable.
Can we do an extraction out of the trap door? If you crack it open, you're gonna suck in the oxygen.
You're looking at a fireball.
We can't just stand here and watch.
We can't go in there until the fire's out, and he's the only one that can stop it.
Boss, you can do it.
You can do this.
Hey, Simon, you remember what I said to you, back at, uh Back at the boat yard? I said that I know.
Oh yeah, I know.
I know what it's like to have other people's lives in your hands.
I know how hard that is.
And I know that what you're going through is not about Gordie, it's not about you carrying that the kid out of that building.
It's about all the years, it's about all the people and all the lives that slipped away when you did your best.
When you doing your job just wasn't good enough.
And the only way to keep the nightmares away is to drink Is to drink, or work harder, or Or to push the people you love away, so that you're anywhere except inside your head, and seeing fathers fall as you hold their sons.
No, no, no, we can't let it end here.
We can't.
We gotta have hope.
We gotta believe that we have a choice.
We gotta believe that we can change things and push the walls back, right? Right? You help me, Simon, I'm gonna help you, and we can do this together.
We can.
But for that to happen you need to come out.
Please, Simon please! You did it.
He hit the kill switch.
- Hi.
How're you? - Good.
Walking with you in these wind swept fields does not keep me honest, when honest does feel the furthest most reach from our fingers and look to the stars I don't remember this.
You only came down once before you guys moved.
I mean, my dad said your mom wasn't really into the whole police thing, but Yeah, I haven't told him What? My dad.
I wanna be a cop.
- Oh, man, no you don't.
- Yeah, man, I do.
Look who's here, guys.
Look who made it.
The furthest most reach from our fingers and I look to the stars and they look to your eyes Yeah, I have to take this.
For surely I know if I flee here tonight that I'd be alone I understand.
Yes.
And I'm sure that I'd crumble and crease in the weight That was the chief.
That's it? That's how you guys That's that's all? Now if it isn't obvious, these two have been cleared by the chief to stay on team one, despite what they decide to do in their free time.
Thank you.
No, Sam, thank you.
We usually get to choose our teammates.
But in your case, we had greatness thrust upon us.
Proud to have you here.
There's nowhere else I'd rather be.
Jules, you're my right hand, you are my heart, and you teach me something everyday.
Raf You've seen what the job can be, right? I have.
Well, you're a fast learner and you're gonna make this team even stronger.
Wordy, a day doesn't go by where I don't miss you.
You too.
Spike Ti voglio bene como e tue se force mio figlio.
Boss Look, you guys are my family I got it.
I got it.
What's going on? I walked away from my team, Ed.
I walked away from you, and I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
Buddy, do the math on this.
How many times have you been there for me? I have nothing but respect for you, Greg, and you never have to apologize to me for anything.
I've got no words for you, my friend.
I've got no words for you.
No words that can describe what you've done for me and who you are to me.
Okay, so what's the deal here? What's your decision? Whatever it is, it's okay.
What's that, your suspension papers? Yeah.
Here, you do it.
What're you saying? Let's keep the peace.
For surely I know if I flee here tonight that I'd be alone a singular fright and I'm sure that I'd crumble and crease in the weight it's safe in your arms, in your arms I will stay
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